LGBT issues

Those skeptical of whether Rick Santorum has what it takes to win a general election contest this fall have focused on, among other things, his drumbeating on social issues in a year when Republican strategists believe hitting President Obama on the economy is the way to win. And Santorum’s potential vulnerability on that score was on display Thursday night in New Hampshire, where he was challenged on his views on gay marriage.

HANOI, Viet Nam -- Gay people in Viet Nam are struggling to overcome social prejudice and family opposition to live true to themselves and find happiness, heard a workshop held recently in Ha Noi.

“When my mother found out I was gay, she took me to a counselling centre and asked the counsellor for a cure,” Nguyen Thanh Tung (not his real name), shared in an interview conducted by the Information Sharing and Connecting group (ICS), a community of LGBT, which stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in early December.

In May a Spanish academic estimated that 6000 LGBT Africans flee to Europe each year.

In the UK, authorities bureaucratically codified the landmark Supreme Court decision of 2010 ending the concept that refused asylum seekers could (and should) “go home and be discreet” or relocate to avoid repression. They also began to record sexuality-based asylum claims.

This “discretion” argument, widely employed to refuse asylum, was rejected by a U.S. Ninth Circuit court in March but used in cases elsewhere.

What a year 2011 has been for LGBT people in San Diego and around the world.

The movement to gain full equality took major steps forward, both in California and around the United States, and showed progress on a global scale. Still, setbacks show that much work still needs to be done.

Here are some of the major stories that played out in 2011.

International LGBT news

NEW YORK -- Same-sex spouses are paying as much as $6,000 a year in extra taxes because the federal government doesn't recognize gay marriage, according to an analysis conducted for CNNMoney by tax specialists.

While marriage provides tax benefits for many heterosexual couples, same-sex families don't enjoy the same perks because they are not allowed to file their federal returns jointly.

The May 17 International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO), initiated by the black gay French leader Louis-Georges Tin, exploded this year with events from Lebanon to Fiji - in all over 70 countries took part.

One highlight amongst many: the presence, the voice of Burmese LGBT at events in Thailand. The spread of participation also highlighted the

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- For the first time in state history, gay and lesbian students will be expressly protected from school bullying after the West Virginia Board of Education unanimously adopted a new anti-bullying policy Wednesday.

Under the new policy, bullying based on 13 categories including race, religion, ethnicity, and sexual orientation and "gender identity or expression" qualifies as a Level 3 disciplinary offense.